A Culinary Launch: Jewish Chef Sends Special Sandwich to Space

How much would you be willing to pay for a meat sandwich and a crumble dessert? Some might go as high as 50 to 100 dollars, in an extravagant scenario. And that kind of price only makes sense in very special circumstances, like trekking for days through a desert or being in a desolate place without any other options. 

Well, it turns out the American space agency is ready to pay much more, just to bring a bit of joy to astronauts. 

This week, two million pounds landed in the pocket of Jewish chef Heston Blumenthal from Britain, who not only conceptualized a particularly creative dish to satisfy the astronauts' ongoing hunger but also successfully crafted and sent it to space. 

Given that astronauts' food typically consists of powders and various liquids, receiving a normal meal like a meat sandwich, an apple crumble dessert, and even a lemon pie was quite a revelation for them. 

For two whole years, Blumenthal worked on various experiments, following instructions he received from the European Space Agency. Finally, when the dish was ready, astronaut Tim Peake was chosen to be the 'guinea pig' for this unique dish before it was declared the most exquisite chef dish in the world. 

In an interview, Blumenthal mentioned that astronauts' sense of taste and smell is impaired because the lack of gravity in space also affects the sinuses. "That's why food needs to be seasoned with strong and dominant flavors," he explains. "That's exactly what I did in this dish. I used lots of Thai curry and other spices with 'assertive' characteristics."

Chef Heston Blumenthal (Photo: Shutterstock)

On the day astronaut Tim Peake's spacecraft was launched to space, to test how the sandwich would hold up under space conditions, Blumenthal stood watching it, counting to himself the unimaginable number of scientists and other professionals involved in this unique challenge. "It's amazing to me that despite all the incredible technology at our disposal, despite the advancements and knowledge we've developed in the field of food engineering, ultimately, what these astronauts will eat is my meal, stored in special canned containers."